Fate Is Odd
by SaraNomed
Summary: A short story involving Jeremy. After getting in trouble (again), he runs off and meets a young man who's able to give him some advice.


Half-blinded by tears and lungs burning from running as fast as his small legs could carry him, Jeremy nearly didn't see the end of the rocky overhang before skidding to a wobbly halt just before dropping over it's edge. Unfortunately, between his built-up momentum and bits of gravel under his shoes knocking him off-balance, after a moment's ungraceful flailing, he tumbled head-over-heels down the steep slope and finally came to a stop at the bottom face-down in the grass. He lay there for a minute, aching from the scrapes and bumps on his legs and arms, trying to catch his breath. He half-expected some passerby enjoying their day at the park to appear and ask if he was alright, but none did, and truthfully grateful for this, he slowly pulled himself to a sitting position. Wincing, he examined his wounds and finally got to his feet, gingerly making his way to the nearby pond and settling himself at it's edge, dipped his hand into the water, scooping some up to cool and clean his stinging skin. After this was achieved, he sat quietly watching a group of Wooper as his thoughts drifted back to how he had ended up here in the first place...

 _"Jeremy! Get in here right now!"_

 _Cringing, the boy took his time slowly making his way to the dining room, where he found his parents, especially his mother, looking angry and exasperated._

 _Jessie crossed her arms, "I just had a little chat with our neighbor. It seems that someone put an alarm on his door that makes a loud screaming sound when it's opened...and he happened to see you hanging around yesterday evening."_

 _"You wouldn't have had anything to do with this, would you?" asked James calmly._

 _Jeremy tried to keep an even expression, but his eyes gave him away and Jessie snapped, "Jeremy Morgan! What is it with you and these pranks?!"_

 _Biting his lip he spoke up, "B-but I was just...Mr. Nelson is always so bored! I thought he could use a little-"_

 _"Son, sometimes pranks are okay, but-" James started to say, but seeing Jessie's sideways glare, cleared his throat and continued, "It's not okay to play them on our neighbors. Ever...except maybe mild ones, on Halloween, maybe-"_

"JAMES!"

 _"Okay, okay! Jeremy, you really need to stop doing this."_

 _Looking at his feet, he grumbled, "No one ever lets me have fun..."_

 _"What was that, young man?" Jessie asked curtly._

 _Pouting, Jeremy stomped his foot, "I wasn't hurting anyone or anything! I like building stuff and I just wanted to try this new thing out and Mr. Nelson-"_

 _"Jeremy, I don't care what your excuses are! The fact remains that you're out of line, and that we have one very upset neighbor," sighed Jessie, "Now, you're going to march over there, take down your little contraption, and apologize to Mr. Nelson."_

 _Mirroring his mother, Jeremy crossed his arms, "No."_

 _James raised an eyebrow, "Hmm?"_

 _Losing his temper, Jeremy stomped his foot, "No! That thing took me weeks to build and taking it down would break it! I don't wanna waste all that work!"_

 _"I don't care if it took you a year! You have to get rid of it!" retorted Jessie._

 _Tears now in his blue eyes, the boy gulped, "I won't do it and you can't make me!"_

 _"Oh really?!" Jessie fumed, "You're grounded for a week!"_

 _"I don't care!"_

 _"No going to the docks with your friends for two weeks!"_

 _"Whatever!"_

 _"You'll do it or else-"_

 _"NO!" he yelled furiously, and spinning on his heels, barreled out eh door, completely ignoring his parent's demands to come back..._

He wasn't certain how long he'd been sitting by the pond sulking when his misery was interrupted by a Pikachu appearing near him, cautiously sniffing at the water before taking a drink. He smiled despite everything, watching the yellow Pokemon lap up the water, shaking it's head on occasion. At one point it sneezed, and Jeremy giggled, the noise finally catching Pikachu's attention and it looked up at him, wiggling it's ears. At that point a whistle was heard, and Pikachu turned with a happy smile, running away. Jeremy turned to see Pikachu leap into the arms of a young man with jet-black hair who looked to be in his early twenties. The man looked toward Jeremy and waved politely. Jeremy gave him a half-hearted wave back and turned back around to stare out over the pond. A few moments later, he found himself having company as the young man sat down a few feet away, the Pikachu on his lap.

"Hi!" he said cheerfully.

"...Hi." mumbled Jeremy.

"You don't look so good. What's the matter?"

"Long story...basically I'm in deep trouble..."

"Hmm..." the young man scratched his chin, "Mind if I ask what happened?"

Lonely, angry, feeling in some strange, deep-down way that he could trust him, and that he had nothing to lose, Jeremy gave an abbreviated version of his dilemma.

"...So yeah. That's about it," he pulled his knees to his chest, "Now I don't know what to do..."

They all sat quietly for a little bit before Jeremy's new-found confidant asked, "Would you be upset if I give you some advice?"

"Nah. Go ahead..."

"You like building things, right? That's very impressive, especially for your age. Heh, I can't build anything, and I'm a lot older than you! ...Have you ever thought of building things to help people?"

Jeremy blinked. He honestly hadn't; all the things he had torn apart to learn how they ticked, all of the things he had made, had been with the intent of playing jokes. The idea of trying to help others hadn't really crossed his mind.

"No...not really." he answered honestly.

"Well, maybe you could give it a try. That way, you could hone your skills, and do some good in the process," the young man smiled wistfully and patted his Pikachu, "I used to be really reckless, never thinking ahead and only ever seeing the here-and-now. But, in time, I learned to take a breath and see the bigger picture. I know you can, too." He smiled warmly at Jeremy.

Jeremy smiled back, his heart now much more at ease, "Thank you! I...think I will. At least, I'll give it a try!"

"Good! That's all we can do, really, is try our best."

Jeremy got to his feet, "I...think I'll head home now...maybe my parents have calmed down. Except maybe my mom. I'll find out. Thank you for everything!"

He started to run off, then paused. Turning back around he called, "Hey! What's your name?!"

Waving again, the young man replied, "I'm Ash! Good luck!"

Laughing, Jeremy said loudly, "That's my middle name! I guess we were destined to meet! Thanks again! Bye!"

Ash called goodbye to the boy as he dashed away, then smiled and shook his head, saying to Pikachu, "I hope that kid will be alright...say Pikachu..," he raised an eyebrow, "Did he seem kinda familiar to you..?"

Approaching his front door, Jeremy sighed deeply and finally opened it, "Mom?! Dad? I'm ready to say sorry...and I gotta tell you about the guy I met!"


End file.
